Wall outlet box locater

ABSTRACT

A wall outlet box locater apparatus for use where gypsum and other type wall board panels are used to cover walls in a structure comprising: a T-square shaped member, a lip member extending across the top head portion of the T-square member, and a sliding box shaped member positioned for movement of the leg of the T-square member and with said box shaped member capable of being fixed in various positions for the purpose of tracing a cut out area in the wall panel.

United States Paten Isola et al.

[151 3,678,588 [4s] July 25,1972

[54] WALL OUTLET BOX LOCATER [22]- Filed: March 5,1971

[21] Appl.No.: 121,436

[52] U.S. Cl ..33/l80 R, 33/174 G, 33/197, 33/DIG. l0 [51] Int. Cl...G0lb 5/14 [58] Field of Search ..33/180 R, 197, DlG. 10,174 B, 33/174G [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,990,172 6/1961 Gianotta..33/DIG. 10

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3,246,399 4/1966 Southern ..33/1 97 X Primary Examiner-William D.Martin, Jr. Attorneyl-larness, Dickey & Pierce [5 7] ABSTRACT A walloutlet box locater apparatus for use where gypsum and other type wallboard panels are used to cover walls in a structure comprising: aT-square shaped member, a lip member extending across the top headportion of the T-square member, and a sliding box shaped memberpositioned for movement of the leg of the T-square member and with saidbox shaped member capable of being fixed in various positions for thepurpose of tracing a cut out area in the wall panel.

7 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures I PATENTEnJuLzsmz WALL OUTLET BOX LOCATER.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention broadly relates to a locatingapparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to a wall outlet boxlocator apparatus for use in determining an area to be cut outin a wallpanel, with said cut out area being adapted to accommodate a previouslymounted electrical outlet box.

The state of the prior art is indicated by the following references,which were located in a preliminary search, and which are cited here ofrecord suchas U.S. Pats. to: Grennan, No. 503,045; Duffy, No. 1,489,933;No. Houts 1,787,313; Lutz, No. 2,203,992; Phair, No. 2,919,913; Kelley,No. 2,994,351; Crawford, No. 3,154,304; and Howell, No. 3,522,658.

The mainobject of the inventionis to simplify the locating of installedelectrical and other outlet boxes in wall panels during the installationof the wall panels, with the wall panels being generally of the typewhich are installed in either a horizontal or vertical manner.

Another objectof the present invention is to provide an improved walloutlet box locator apparatus.

. Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the subsequent description and the appended-claimstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates an elevation viewof the apparatus in accordance withthe invention; and

FIG. 2 illustrates a plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly stated, the present invention comprisesa wall outlet box locater apparatus for use where gypsum and other wallboard panels and the like are used to cover walls in a structure, saidapparatus comprising: a T-square shaped member including a slot at oneend thereof, a centering point member located within the slot to assistin visually positioning the T- square member, a lip member extendinggenerally across the top head portion of the T-square member for use insquaring the T-square member by bringing the lip member into closerelationship with a predetermined edge of a wall panel, a sliding boxshaped member positioned on the leg portion of the T- square member andwith said box shaped member including two way guide means enabling thebox shaped member to slidably positioned on the leg portion inhorizontal orientation and in vertical orientation relative to the leg,said box member being'shaped such that when it is properly positioned anarea to be cut out can be traced on a predetermined wall panel in aproperly located position to accommodate vertically and horizontallymounted wall outlet boxes.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A description of the embodiment ofthe invention as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is made below, however, it isnot intended to be limited to the specific embodiment shown in thatvariations therein may be fairly apparent after having the advantage ofthe disclosure made herein.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the wall outlet box locater apparatus generallydesignated and which includes a T-square shaped member 12 generallycomprised of a head portion 14 and an extended leg portion 16. The headportion 14 includes a centering point member 18 positioned within a slot20 formed in the head portion 14.

The head portion 14 also includes one or more prongs 22 which arecapable of being inserted into the edge of an adjacent wall panel tostabilize the apparatus 10 during use thereof as will be explainedbelow.

A lip member 23 extends generally across the top head portion 14 of theT-square member and the lip member 23 serves the purpose of facilitatingsquaring of the T-square member relative to the edge of-a wall panelwhich is to receive the cut out marking ortracing for an outlet boxlayout.

A sliding box shaped member 30 is positioned on the leg portion 16 ofthe T-square member. and the box shaped member includes two way guidemeans or channels designated 32 and 34. As shown in FIG. 2 the boxshaped member 30 is mounted for sliding movement-on the leg portion 16by means of the guide channel 34. The box shaped member 30.may also bepositioned transversely on the leg portion 16 for sliding movementthereon throughuse of the other guide channel32 which is oriented at anangle of relative to the positioning of the guide channel 34. By properselection of sliding either with the guide channel 32 or the guidechannel 34 it is possible touse the box shaped member as a template fora vertically or horizontally positioned aperture in a. wall panel tocorrespondingly accommodate an outlet box which is mounted in itslength-wise dimension either vertically or horizontally, for example, ona wall stud.

The sliding box shaped member 30 is held in any desired position on theleg portion 16 by tightening a set screw 40 against the leg portion 16.

The usage or operation of the wall outlet box locator apparatus 10 is asfollows.

The double acting template or sliding box shaped member 30 may be movedalong the leg 16 of the T-square member to locate the outlet boxesmounted on wall studs (not shown). The outlet box may be eithervertically or horizontally mounted on the wall studs, and depending ontheir orientation the sliding box shaped member is properly positionedusing either guide channel 32 or guide channel 34. The T-square memberis secured into position against any useable reference level, such asthe adjacent edge of an. already mounted wall panel, or ground level.Securing the Tsquare is performed by properly positioning the surface23a against the chosen reference level from which the measurement to theoutlet box on the wall stud is to be made.

For example, it is common in mounting wall panels on the wall studs tomount a first group of wall panels across the wall at the top thereof ina horizontally oriented position. Once this group of wall panels is inposition the wall studs on the bottom half of the wall are still exposedand the outlet boxes are also exposed. Surface 23a of the T-squaremember is then pressed against the edge of a wall panel which is alreadymounted above an exposed wall outlet box. If the mounted wall panel isof a soft material such as gypsum, then the prongs 22 would be pressedinto the gypsum to help stabilize the apparatus 10. Then the sliding boxtemplate 30 is moved vertically along the leg portion 16 until it coversthe stud mounted outlet box. The set screw 40 is tightened to fix thetemplate or box shaped member 30 in position. The T-square member isthen removed from pressing engagement with the edge of the mounted wallpanel and it is transferred over to an unmounted wall panel. The lipmember 23 is then overlapped on the edge of the unmounted wall panel,which latter mentioned edge is the one to be engaged with the edge(reference level) of the already mounted panel which was engaged by theprongs 22 and surface 23a for the purpose of measuring the position ofthe outlet box. The tracing or penciled layout for the outlet box isthen made on the all panel after measuring the proper horizontaldimension from the adjacent edge of the unmounted wall panel. The areatraced with the template formed by the box shaped member 30 is then cutout to form an aperture in the unmounted wall panel which willaccommodate the outlet box upon subsequent mounting of the wall panel.

The above usage or operation of the apparatus 10 may of course becarried out to locate either a single wall outlet box aperature in awall panel or a series of several wall outlet box apertures in one ormore panels prior to mounting thereof.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiments of theinvention disclosed are well calculated to fulfill the objects abovestated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible tomodification, variation and change without departing from the properscope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A wall outlet box locater apparatus for use where gypsum and otherwall board panels and the like are used to cover walls in a structure,

said apparatus comprising:

a T-square shaped member including a slot at one end thereof, acentering point member located within the slot to assist in visuallypositioning the T-square member, a lip member extending generally acrossthe top head portion of the T-square member for use in squaring the T-.square member by bringing the lip member into close relationship with apredetermined edge of a wall panel, a-sliding box shaped memberpositioned on the leg portion of the T-square member and with said boxshaped member including two way guide means enabling the box shapedmember to be slidably positioned on the leg portion in horizontalorientation and in vertical orientation 'elative to the leg, s' aid boxmember being shaped such that when it is properly positioned an area tobe cut out can be traced on a predetermined wall panel in a properlylocated position to accommodate vertically and horizontally mounted walloutlet boxes. 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein, said guide means arefound by intersecting channel means at a 90 angle relative to oneanother to enable the slidable positioning of the shaped member.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein,

at least one prong type projection extends from said top head portion ofthe T-square member, with said prong being insertable into an adjacentwall panel when moving and positioning the box shaped member.

4. A wall outlet box locater apparatus for use where gypsum and otherwall board panels and the like are used to cover walls in a structure,

said apparatus comprising:

a T-square shaped member,

a centering point located on the T-square shaped member to assist invisual positioning,

means extending generally across the top head portion of the T-squaremember for us in squaring the apparatus by bringing the means into closerelationship with a predetermined edge of a wall panel,

sliding box shaped means positioned on the leg portion of the T-squaremember and with said box shaped means including guide means enabling thebox shaped member to be slidably positioned on the leg portion inhorizontal orientation and in vertical orientation relative to the leg,said box means being shaped such that when it is properly positioned anarea to be cut out can be traced on a predetermined wall panel in aproperly located position to accommodate vertically and horizontallymounted wall outlet boxes.

5. A wall outlet box locater apparatus for use where gypsum and otherwall board panels and the like are used to cover walls in a structure,

said apparatus comprising:

a squared off member including a centering means to assist in visuallypositioning the member,

means extending generally across the top head portion of the squared offmember for use in squaring the member by bringing the means into closerelationship with a predetermined edge of a wall panel,

a sliding shaped member positioned on the leg portion of the squared offmember and with said shaped member including guide means enabling theshaped member to be slidably positioned on the leg portion in horizontalorientation and in vertical orientation relative to the leg, saidsliding member being shaped such that when it is properly positioned anarea to be cut out can be traced on a predetermined wall panel in aproperly located position to accommodate vertically and horizontallymounted wall outlet boxes. 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein, saidguide means are found by intersecting channel means at a angle relativeto one another to enable the slidable positioning of the shaped member.7. The apparatus of claim 6 further characterized as including a singleset screw perpendicular to said leg portion, a slot in the head portionof the T-square, a centering point member mounted within said slot, atleast one prong extending from the head portion to assist in stabilizingthe apparatus during usage thereof said means extending generally acrossthe top head portion of the squared off member being comprised of a lipmember which is coordinate in length with the head portion.

1. A wall outlet box locater apparatus for use where gypsum and otherwall board panels and the like are used to cover walls in a structure,said apparatus comprising: a T-square shaped member including a slot atone end thereof, a centering point member located within the slot toassist in visually positioning the T-square member, a lip memberextending generally across the top head portion of the T-square memberfor use in squaring the T-square member by bringing the lip member intoclose relationship with a predetermined edge of a wall panel, a slidingbox shaped member positioned on the leg portion of the T-square memberand with said box shaped member including two way guide means enablingthe box shaped member to be slidably positioned on the leg portion inhorizontal orientation and in vertical orientation relative to the leg,said box member being shaped such that when it is properly positioned anarea to be cut out can be traced on a predetermined wall panel in aproperly located position to accommodate vertically and horizontallymounted wall outlet boxes.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein, saidguide means are found by intersecting channel means at a 90* anglerelative to one another to enable the slidable positioning of the shapedmember.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein, at least one prong typeprojection extends from said top head portion of the T-square member,with said prong being insertable into an adjacent wall panel when movingand positioning the box shaped member.
 4. A wall outlet box locaterapparatus for use where gypsum and other wall board panels and the likeare used to cover walls in a structure, said apparatus comprising: aT-square shaped member, a centering point located on the T-square shapedmember to assist in visual positioning, means extending generally acrossthe top head portion of the T-square member for us in squaring theapparatus by bringing the means into close relationship with apredetermined edge of a wall panel, sliding box shaped means positionedon the leg portion of the T-square member and with said box shaped meansincluding guide means enabling the box shaped member to be slidablypositioned on the leg portion in horizontal orientation and in verticalorientation relative to the leg, said box means being shaped such thatwhen it is properly positioned an area to be cut out can be traced on apredetermined wall panel in a properly located position to accommodatevertically and horizontally mounted wall outlet boxes.
 5. A wall outletbox locater apparatus for use where gypsum and other wall board panelsand the like are used to cover walls in a structure, said apparatuscomprising: a squared off member including a centering means to assistin visually positioning the member, means extending generally across thetop head portion of the sQuared off member for use in squaring themember by bringing the means into close relationship with apredetermined edge of a wall panel, a sliding shaped member positionedon the leg portion of the squared off member and with said shaped memberincluding guide means enabling the shaped member to be slidablypositioned on the leg portion in horizontal orientation and in verticalorientation relative to the leg, said sliding member being shaped suchthat when it is properly positioned an area to be cut out can be tracedon a predetermined wall panel in a properly located position toaccommodate vertically and horizontally mounted wall outlet boxes. 6.The apparatus of claim 5 wherein, said guide means are found byintersecting channel means at a 90* angle relative to one another toenable the slidable positioning of the shaped member.
 7. The apparatusof claim 6 further characterized as including a single set screwperpendicular to said leg portion, a slot in the head portion of theT-square, a centering point member mounted within said slot, at leastone prong extending from the head portion to assist in stabilizing theapparatus during usage thereof said means extending generally across thetop head portion of the squared off member being comprised of a lipmember which is coordinate in length with the head portion.